Reason parents came in for exams growing up

My mom was a BSN advanced life support pediatric ICU nurse paramedic field nurse. And she taught those things too

It is normal till a certain age I guess but even if it was policy at a doctor I would refuse to undress in front of my parents after a certain age

My mom was in past 18 at the ped… sometimes it was “office policy” sometimes it was “to be sure I am healthy”. No matter what she always had a great view of me naked for the exam

In the 80's I don't remember if it was office policy or not. It was just a parent was present most of the time. My pedo was different, younger then 12 or prior to puberty, my mother never went into the room, I was always by myself, the nurse and the doctor and afterwards, my mother would speak privately to the doctor in his office.

It was when I started puberty, for some reason my mother was in the exam room and since the exam room was smaller, she was able to see the full exam. It was embarrassing.

I really dont know if it was the hospitals policy or just my mom insisted on being there. Like some others have pointed out, I too vividly remember her being there for one exam when I was an adolescent (almost a teen) and getting really embarrassed that she had to be there when the doctor made me take off my pants.😉

It must have been a state wide regulation because everyone I knew had a parent in the exam room at least until 16. 95% of the time it was the mom's job to do the doctor visits. After that it seemed to be voluntary. My mother was with me all through high school, so past 16. After that, my father brought me to his doctor for my college era physical exams.

Funny story about that, a friend of mine took advantage of the 16 year old policy and went for his first physical on his own, glad that his mother no longer had to watch. Then he moved and apparently his new state, or maybe just his new doctor, had an 18 year old policy. So after proudly going in on his own one time he now again had to stand there nude and let his mom watch the doctor examining his testicles.

I'm unsure when mom stopped coming with me. Certainly there was the issue of payment, somebody needed to be there to pay and deal with insurance paperwork.

I'm not sure if it was policy or not, my mom just kind of came in with me and I really didn't complain until I was like 15, then she stopped coming in.

I had some very bad experiences in the foster care system. I was small for my age and suffered from asthma. Despite the need for medical care I rarely saw a doctor and when I did most medical professionals treated me poorly and without an ounce of compassion.

Shortly before my 11th birthday I was sent to a foster home. 3 years later they adopted me. A child's birthday celebration was completely alien to me (a pleasant surprise) and a doctor's visit left me under great duress. My parents scheduled a complete physical examination (lab tests, EKG and chest x-ray) shortly after I moved in. Since I was neglected and abused I also had my share of emotional and psychological challenges.

I don't know if there was an official office policy but what I do remember is my mom and/or dad sat in with me for my yearly physicals and sick visits until I was 14. I was accustomed to seeing a doctor alone due to my previous living situation. My parents were present to alleviate my anxiety and provide encouragement. My new doctor was also very kind and understanding. I was very fortunate to have these people looking out for me.

They had to have a reason? Mine just came with me and I didn’t know it was odd until I was older. The nurse would call me, and both mom and I would stand up and follow her back.

I have no idea if it was office policy or her policy. I do remember feeling way to old to have her in the room with me toward the end.

Office policy afaik. Nowadays there's too much risk of allegations for a doctor to examine a child unchaperoned. Even as an adult my doctor's office requires a second person in the room to chaperone any genital or rectal exams. Doesn't matter if it's a friend, relative, nurse, med student, etc., as long as there's a witness to corroborate anything that happens. I'm not sure if that's specifically for when the doctor and patient are opposite sexes or if it's universal, but I prefer female doctors so no reason for me to ask about it.

This is a mandatory requirement. In the hospital, such examinations were always carried out in the presence of at least two nurses. Even enemas were never given by one nurse, there were always two.

I don't think my doctors' surgery had a policy about what age you had to be before you could be seen without a parent. I'm basing that on how on one occasion, my mum had to drop me at the surgery and leave me there in the waiting room while she went to take my sister to school and she said ‘I’ll be back in time for your appointment.' She then wasn't. They called me for it and I said I didn't want to go in without her. I waited another half an hour saying she wasn't back yet so I couldn't go in before they said ‘If she’s not back by the next time the doctor's free I'm afraid we're going to have to send you in on your own.' At which point I was pretty seriously nervous but I actually remember thinking ‘That’s it then, this is going to be my first time seeing the doctor without a parent.' Big-boy-pants time, in other words. Thank God, my mum got back about two minutes after they said that. I actually think she'd have been seriously pissed if they'd made me go in on my own and probably complained, but I think I'd have been fine. I might have cried a little with nerves but I think the doctor I saw would have known how to deal with me the right way. I'm almost sorry it didn't happen and become another memory to add to to medfet stockpile.

To answer the question, no - I don't think there was a policy on how old a kid had to be back then. This was the early 90's and safeguarding wasn't so strict back then. When I finally did decided I was going to the doctor on my own as a teen (I was 13 the first time I went on my own) the question of my age was never raised. I'm not a lawyer but I think there's something in British law about how a kid has a right to see a medical professional without a parent there at pretty well any age because a parent not being there can sometimes mean they'll talk about issues they'd be scared to in front of one. I think in that situation now there has to be a chaperone present and one professional involved has to be female.

I swear, my parents were helicopter parents and did not care much at all for their children’s privacy. Both my mom and dad came to my exams until I was eighteen and moved out. It was very uncomfortable and it did not contribute to a very trusting relationship with them.

I actually wish my parents had been more like that. My mother was always the one to step out or turn away during genital exams Even though I couldn't have cared less what she saw. Once she no longer had to be in the room during the exam she started waiting for me outside. I'd much prefer having another person in there with me to help remember concerns I might have and get an idea of what the doctor wants me to do going forward.

I really would have loved for my mother not to be there after age 4, but I was usually quite ill, so she would’ve needed to receive instructions from the Dr that I would not have retained due to not feeling well, or being too young to comprehend.

My pediatrician required a parent in the room up until 16 and I don’t know if it was state law or just their policy. I couldn’t wait to turn 16 because my stepmother took me to almost all my appointments and it was embarrassing in front of her.

I do not know if this was a state law or not but, I believe you had to have a parent or guardian for early childhood and up to 5th grade to accompany you in the exam room. My Mom did for the early period of time and then by 5th grade I just would go by myself. This was 1970s to early 80's in IL. I don't think parents or even most Doc's allow unsupervised exams due to lawsuits.

As much as we all hated it, parent(s) really have to be there in the exam room with their kids up to say the age of 15 or 16, depending on the kids maturity. Young kids aren't going to understand or retain what the doctor tells them if something is wrong.

As much as we all hated it, parent(s) really have to be there in the exam room with their kids up to say the age of 15 or 16, depending on the kids maturity. Young kids aren't going to understand or retain what the doctor tells them if something is wrong.

Quite right.

And even if someone of that age were to understand what the doctor diagnosed as a problem, many young people might not even mention it to their parents and pretend that everything was hunky-dory. It's not as if youngsters are always that open and sharing with parents.

I for one dreaded my parents hearing about any medical problem, even for something like a flu or such, because things often turned into a defcon 5 situation at home with my mother often going overboard with worry and attention.

Around the age of 10 I was allowed to see the doctor without a parent. It was an option I exercised when I knew the exam might include an intimate examination. The doctor always talked with a parent afterwards, sometimes including me, sometimes not.

After the age of 6 or 7, I did not go to the doctor for any reason very often. When it was, it was for a sick visit. My mom went in, so that she could get the instructions.

After I began developing, I don remember going back to the doctor until I was 18 and needed a physical for college. She did not accompany me beyond the waiting room at that point.

My father never took me to appointments.

For those of you who had your parents come in during your exams growing up, do you know if it was the policy of the doctor’s office or if they just wanted to see the exam?

I can not guess the actual reason why my mom came to the exams I had. Best guess is she was concerned for my well fair and wanted to know first hand what was going on.

Regarding the possible policy of the doctor, as a child it was not something I was concerned with.

Also my mom came because I was too young to drive anywhere. So instead of sitting in the waiting room, she came along.

I'm not sure if it was the doctor's office policy or not to have an adult in the same room during exams. I think as a kid it was just normal for my parents to be there in the room so that the doctor could talk to them about any issues during the exam. I think the last time my mom was in the room during a physical exam was when I was 16, after that it was just me and the doctor in the room.

My mother was present during all exams I had, probably until I was 17. Definitely not ot a pleasant memory.

My mom went to all my exam until i was 19 and it was not a big deal.

In our country, this is not a medical policy, but at the level of the law. A child under 14 could only be undressed in the presence of a legal representative. The doctor could listen to the child, but examination or medical procedures only in the presence of a legal representative. It didn't have to be the mother, it was often the grandmother. At the age of 6, my aunt took me for enemas. I was driven by an older 18 year old sister in my 10-11 years old. She had my mother's written consent, although I don't remember anyone looking at my sister's passport.The doctors were not surprised, so I think that the sister accepted not only me. A couple of times I saw how the parent who entered with the child then left and waited in the corridor. I don't know what they did with those kids, although they were older than me, probably 14 or 15 years old. Doctors did not send my sister to the corridor during the examination. And I, despite my shyness, did not ask for this, simply because I did not even think that the doctors would listen to the child's desire. In addition, my mother promised that if my half-sisters complained about me that I did not obey them, she would whip me.

My mom went to all my exams maybe until 16. I felt really awkward and it didn’t help that the doctor was female.

My mom went to all my exam until i was 19 and it was not a big deal.

I guess I'm somewhere between these two. I was very used to the routine at the pediatrician every year, and since I was a late bloomer, I understand why I had to keep going to a pediatrician until I was through puberty.

The doctor pulling down my undies in front of my mom wasn't the awkward part for me, even though it was the only time she saw my penis each year when I was 14 - 16. What was awkward on that last visit at 16 was when the doctor asked me whether I had started ejaculating semen, and I said yes, then he asked whether I was awake or asleep when it happened, and I said awake. That basically was me admitting to masturbation, awkward on its own, but compounded by the doctor looking at my mom, and her nodding yes, which means I had done a terrible job at keeping that secret. That was the most embarrassing part, and whether it had anything to do with me turning bright red at that point, I'm not sure, but I didn't have to go back to the pediatrician again after that.

I thought everyone’s mom or dad stayed in the room during exams. I didn’t even think about asking for privacy. I definitely felt awkward when my mom could see my breasts or when the doctor asked me about my periods and discharge in front of her. And then once when he was examining between my legs he told her my labia was “developing well.” I thought it was in unnecessary for him to say that, and it was definitely embarrassing.

It’s odd, I didn’t mind her seeing me undressed in changing rooms or in the locker room at the pool, and I would sometimes ask her things about my body, but something about being at the doctor made me feel vulnerable and like I was being judged.

It was Doctors office policy. As I got older it was a little embarrassing. Not so much that my mom was seeing me naked. We grow up in some what of a open Home. I was the youngest boy of 3 sisters. Seeing one another naked wasn’t a big deal growing up .

But getting a examination By a nurse and Doctor was little different as I got older. Mom stop taking my temperature in my butt around 7, 8 unless we were vomiting or coughing really bad. Then most of the time she just didn’t take it at all . Regular checkups at the pediatrician office nurse took oral temperatures using a glass thermometer. She would say let’s get your temperature Under your tongue. After she got Done. Doctor would come in and ask questions and start the exam. The last thing he would do is have you pull your underwear down and press around Then stand in front of him and cough. Then tell you to get dressed and he would talk to mom.

Sick visits was little different nurse took your temperature in your butt with a glass thermometer she would say let’s get your pants and underwear down and on your tummy then walk over to the counter get the thermometer and Vaseline, and put it in your butt. Depending on the out come of the reading . If you had a fever she would ask mom if she gave you anything to reduce the fever or for pain if any? If not she would leave the room and return with another nurse and most of the time a suppository, right before the Doctor would walk-in . After he was done you got a shot or 2 in the butt. From the same two nurses . On the way home mom stoped by the drugstore and got your prescription filled .most of the time it was antibiotic, cough syrup ,Tylenol suppositories or suppositories for vomiting.

Me being the youngest I went with mom to take my sister’s to Doctor more so then them with me going to the pediatrician office

My mother came in to all my clinic exams or docs docs never talked to child only to mothers never botherd me mum give enemas suppos at home so not as if hadnt seen it all